Slovak MFA: EU’s help for Belarus will go directly to those in need

The extraordinary EU summit in Brussels at the end of this week will decide on the final version of a list of sanctions targeted against Belarus, and whether or not President Alexander Lukashenko will be on the list, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok (an SaS nominee) stated following a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday. "Lukashenko is obviously determined to continue the course he took immediately after the election's manipulation, which means intimidating and jailing people as much as possible," stated Korčok. On Monday the foreign affairs ministers agreed that €50 million in aid cannot "land" in the Belarusian Government's accounts. The aid will be divided into three tranches - assistance to the business sector; to victims of repression, students and support for freedom of the media; and to support the fight against the coronavirus. However, this money will go directly to accounts of hospitals and health-care facilities.